Falcons haven’t missed a beat after move to D-II

Matt Metcalf
Posted 4/15/15

In 2013, the Cranston West boys’ lacrosse team played their first season in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.

The Falcons started out in Division III and found some success right away, …

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Falcons haven’t missed a beat after move to D-II

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In 2013, the Cranston West boys’ lacrosse team played their first season in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.

The Falcons started out in Division III and found some success right away, compiling a 7-5 record in year one.

In year two, West continued to make strides en route to an 11-2 record.

Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs last spring, the Falcons felt that they were ready to make the move up to Division II – and that’s where they’ll play this season.

In just the third year for the program, West has improved with each season and is ready to contend in D-II this spring.

“Even though our season ended in heartbreak last season, we were rewarded by moving up to Division II,” West head coach Jared Zimmer said. “Our kids are proud and I’m proud of them.”

In the early weeks of the season, the Falcons certainly haven’t looked out of place – earning victories in two of their first three games.

Although West graduated some key pieces following last season, it still has some in place for this season – particularly at attack, where junior captain, Cam Bent, and senior captain, Trent Colford, will pace West’s offense.

In fact, they’ve already picked up where they left off last season, as Colford has nine goals and 11 assists through three games, while Bent has netted nine goals and has also dished out four assists.

Bent and Colford will have a big say as to how far West will go this season.

“They’ve started since day one of the program and have grown each year,” Zimmer said of his two offensive leaders. “They have a great feel for what each other is doing. When they’re on their game, it’s fun to watch. They want to show that they’re two of the best players in the state.”

Junior Tom Serabian and sophomore Chris Ohsberg will round out the attack.

Another big piece to the team this season will be senior captain, Mike Pierce, who will start at goalie.

He will be even more important this season, as the Falcons graduated eight starters at midfield and defense from last year’s squad.

“He’s a wall back there,” Zimmer said. “He’s a two-time All-Division selection and he really calms the team down.”

West has had to overcome some challenges early of having some inexperienced players at the defense and midfield positions, but those players have stepped right in and have played well to erase some of those question marks.

The defensive core will be led by senior Stephen Ohsberg, while junior Zack French, freshman Mitchell Gemma and sophomore Kyle Hammond will also see a bulk of the minutes and will look to provide some stability in front of Pierce.

At midfield, seniors Jared Tirocchi, Alphonse Cardi and Shawn Rogers and sophomores Dean Chiarello, Joey DelMastro and Teddy Ruggieri will be relied upon to step up this spring.

Other players that will push for time will be Juniors Nate Magner and Nate Gonzalez and freshman Christian McDade.

In addition to the eight starters that West graduated, it also graduated five other contributors.

Replacing 13 players isn’t easy, but Zimmer wants to reestablish the depth that his team lost, as excuses aren’t an option.

“We want to keep competing,” Zimmer said. “Guys are going to graduate, but we want to remain competitive no matter what.”

So far, the Falcons have been more than competitive.

The Falcons hosted Smithfield on Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. They will be back in action on Friday, when the Falcons host Mt. Hope at 4 p.m. at Cranston Stadium.

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